Hi everyone.. I'm mark 37yrs old currently living in japan.. I just want to vent out about deceivers here in japan.. yes I know its my fault.. hear me out..
On 2023 december I opened a bar in aichiken.. everything was perfect before opening night but i discovered the owner of the place im renting is also a renter.. that's why I cant operate the place using my name.. the problem is I spent my money that I've been saving for a long time.. almost 2.5 million yen and all was in vain.. I talked to the owner which is a renter also that he should return all the money I spent for his place but with no avail.. we called the local police but they haven't called me since then.. that brought me great stress and did nothing for 3 months because of depression.. but then I start to work again on a big company and saved money again.. until recently I talked with a japanese who owns night clubs.. we set dates of meeting and so on.. but our last meeting was not fruitful because he demanded me to rent his club for 500,000 yen a month and he present me the papers and it was clean.. but the problem is 500k yen is 4x expensive for a bar style club.. so i declined..
But because he wanted to make a deal with me he offered me a deal to test out the club.. 1500yen a day rent and 30% back from my sales.. then I tried it out.. of course I discussed this with my wife.. and we tried it out for 10 days.. but the problem is this.. the owner is always around and he demands me to not to charge him on all his drinks and foods that he will order from me because he is still the owner.. so I play his rules.. but after 10 days I declined everything from him.. though I renovate his club and made it modern like lightings and everything to make it more unique.. in total I spent like 300k yen in everything because I'm hoping for positive outcome.. but yeah its all my fault..
Right now I'm a mushoku or unemployed.. waiting for my visa to be released..
I really want to make my own business and I did have a lot of experience from renovating a club and running a club.. I have so many ideas but I can't make it because of like those people who takes advantage..
I think the lesson I learned about this experience is do not give your full trust even if they are japanese.. because in business, no one really cares about you and at the end of the day it's all just a business..
Thanks for reading.. and sorry for my grammarš
by Dangerous_Airline_65
10 comments
Should have hired a lawyer in the apartment verification process
Crime is alive and well when it comes to bars and clubs in Japan.
Itās a club, and you aināt in it.
Thanks for sharing your story and good luck ahead.
Donāt you need a license to run a bar and part of the license process is providing proof of appropriate venue?
Also I think youāre taking away the wrong lesson. The lesson is if you cut corners and donāt do things properly (verification, contracts, etc.) you have a high likelihood of dealing with the wrong people and getting burned.
Looks like you are learning the hard way instead of doing due diligence and studying regulations. Living in a foreign country is hard to begin with and bureaucracy is cumbersome, but jumping through the hoops often makes life easier. If you don’t know the law, hire someone to help you with your contracts and/or taxes.
Also, trusting people has nothing to do with nationality. Shady people are of all colors and creeds, and the reverse applies. Some people are good people, some are not. Assume the worst, hope for the best.
I understand your feelings. You were done wrong. But don’t worry! I can help! I will give you a bar and your dream can come true! Please understand that I need 3,000,000 upfront to invest in the place. But you can earn back the money in no time! You will have a cool bar! PM me for details.
āDo not give your full trust even if they are Japaneseā
bro thought japan was just like the anime š
I am truly sorry for your loss. It is sad that you came all the way to Japan and got scammed. Have you tried consulting with Houterasu (ę³ćć©ć¹)? It is a legal consultation center run by the government for people in financial trouble.
[https://www.houterasu.or.jp/](https://www.houterasu.or.jp/)
Anywhere in the world when dealing with property you must get a trusted lawyer involved. Sounds like OP has never done business before but wants to run a bar? Think OP not suitable to be a boss and best to go back being employed
Sorry this happened to you, personally I would never go into the bar/nightclub business in Japan because I think it’s all run by yakuza.
There are some legal organizations in Japan that help foreigners, even if the police don’t get you your 2.5 mil back by arresting him, maybe you can sue the guy who scammed you in civil court.
Definitely get a lawyer and go after the guy who scammed you. You might be able to get some of your money back. You might even get all of your money back plus extra for him scamming you, for example in the USA if you intentionally scam someone, if they take you to small claims court and win, they can be awarded 3x the amount you scammed from them. So a $1,000 scam = $3,000 payment + attorney fees.
Good luck, thanks for sharing your story.
I was a consultant for restaurants in Canada before coming here. The restaurant industry in general is full of these kinds of scams. Black companies in Japan are like amateur hour.
In the future, if you’d like to do this again. It’s generally advised to get a corporate lawyer on retainer, especially in restaurants. In Japan, it’s usually about 300k, but some corporate lawyers will take as low as 50k. A retainer is just pre-payment of fees, so if you don’t use it, you get your money back. Have them look over everything, it’s just due diligence. All of the things you’re talking about are preventable.
As far as owners drinking for free. The vast majority of successful restaurant owners I know are more than happy to pay for their own drinks. You really need to put your foot down on this one. It’s a business. Give a discount if you want, but you need to track sales and inventory, it’s just good management practices. Technically, if you’re renting the space and paying a percentage of sales, the inventory isn’t his, so he’s not the “owner” per se, he’s the landlord, and should be paying. If he’s supplying inventory, I suppose that’s different, I would still bill them though.
30% of sales is high. Tbh, I never worked in clubs, but food-service is usually 8~13%. Google suggests nightclubs are 10~30%, so 30% of sales is basically just paying someone to manage their business. Even with large markups, you still have all the other liabilities. It sounds like a pretty terrible deal to me, even with the cheap rent.
It’s a costly lesson, but hopefully you can recover and bounce back!